Health Board Statement on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) found in Nevill Hall Hospital
Friday 18th August 2023
The Health Board has undertaken thorough assessments on the prevalence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), as a result of an issue being identified with RAAC at a range of NHS and other public sector buildings across the UK, including several properties in Wales - one being Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny.
We would like to reassure our patients, staff and communities that our position is different from the one in Withybush Hospital (Hywel Dda University Health Board), which has recently been publicised on the news. Currently, the scale of the problem at Withybush is having a significant impact on the delivery of services on the site and, to date, three wards have been closed at the hospital. This has resulted in patients being transferred to other hospitals in West Wales, and is the reason for Hywel Dda University Health Board calling a major incident.
Thankfully, we are not in that position – while we have had to close 4 offices, a small section of the restaurant and the Chapel (which will be closed from Friday 18th August pending further works), no clinical patient areas have been affected at this time.
We continue to conduct regular inspections to ensure the site remains safe and to ascertain the extent and financial impact of this problem, and have undertaken this temporary remedial works in the meantime. As this work progresses, the Health Board, alongside expert structural engineers, NHS Wales Estates, and Welsh Government, will consider the full extent of the work needed at the hospital.
We will keep our patients, staff and communities updated with the result of this ongoing work.